Nicole Faltum admits she had a bit of a point to prove when she almost single-handedly pulled the Renegades out of trouble in Friday’s Melbourne derby.

Faltum hammered an unbeaten 66 from 42 balls after arriving in the middle with the Renegades at an all-time high of 5-48 in the eighth over.

Her 67-run partnership with Georgia Wareham steadied the ship, before she combined with Georgia Prestwidge to hit 55 runs from the last 3.4 overs as the Renegades posted a hefty total of 6-170.

It was a breakout round for the 24-year-old, whose previous highest score in the Weber WBBL was 29 – and that was a PB set just six days ago in the first Melbourne derby.

Faltum was traded to the Renegades from the Stars, where she spent seven seasons including a tournament as captain in 2022, halfway through this year and the chance to showcase her old side was added motivation.

“There might be something in it, a bit of extra grit and a bit of determination,” Faltum told cricket.com.au.

“The situation that we were in, if I can contribute positively to the team and if it happens to be against the Stars, it’s a bit of a double win.

“On the bench we were just talking about partnerships, so when I went out with ‘Wolf’ (Wareham), our goal was just to build a partnership.

“We were able to get some momentum at the back and then the way Georgia Prestwidge came in and completely beat them over the rope was unbelievable for us.”

Before her twin strike against the Stars this season, Faltum’s highest score from 47 WBBL rounds was 24 against the Sixers in Mackay in 2022.

The wicketkeeper-batsman’s potential has always been there, and she is a regular in the Australia A team and in recent years has been a consistent contributor in Victoria’s top order in the 50-over WNCL, averaging 36 over the past two seasons.

But before this summer, Faltum had not cracked the code in T20 cricket – nor had she had regular opportunities, batting just 43 times in 79 WBBL matches.

She said a heavy focus on her power play throughout the winter, coupled with her stint with Australia A in their August series against India A, had made the difference.

In the lead-up to WBBL|10, Faltum showcased those wins, hitting unbeaten knocks of 43 (off 24) and 44 (off 27) in the T20 Spring Challenge.

“My power hitting has been a big part of it,” Faltum said.

“My touch game is always there, but the power hitting – I think the belief is just there.

“I feel really backed and I feel really safe from my teammates and from the coaches, which is great.

“And I’ve just gotten the chance to be able to do that in some games (this season), where I probably haven’t had it before.

“I’ve just been working really hard on my batting… having some consistency with where I hit the bat really helps as well.

“I’m at the top of the order for the WNCL, but in all the Aus A stuff I was batting sixes and sevens, so a similar sort of role and I’ve just been trying to hone in on that.”

The Renegades held on in a tight finish to claim a nine-run win, after Stars young guns Rhys McKenna and Tess Flintoff threatened to clinch victory during their own seventh-wicket stand of 44 runs from 24 balls.

Like Faltum, McKenna – who hit 34 off 18 – and Flintoff are players contracted in the Victorian era and produce a brand of fearless lower order.

They came alongside the Stars needing 63 runs from 33 balls, but Flintoff said they were not overwhelmed by the scenario.

“We actually said this would be one heck of a story to tell the grandkids,” Flintoff told cricket.com.au.

“So that was the start of it, and we’re both pretty laid-back characters so we just stuck with it.

“It shows how strong our domestic competition is when you have people like (McKenna and Faltum) stepping up for their team.

“(But) I’m pretty disappointed… when we get close I feel like it hurts a little bit more.”

The Renegades are in a solid position eight games into their season with five wins under their belt, but their second place in the table is likely to be challenged over the next six days before they next play in Hobart on Thursday.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the team that finished bottom with just two wins last season, and started WBBL|10 with back-to-back defeats.

On Friday, they were without captain Sophie Molineux, who is dealing with a knee problem, along with opener Courtney Webb (back) and batter Emma de Broughe, who has been ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury.

“It just shows that we bat really deep and we have so many bowling options,” Faltum said of their ability to cover their missing players.

“The throne among the group is really cool.

“We didn’t win the first two games and we didn’t get off to the best start.

“But I felt in myself, and I think others felt, that even though we didn’t get over the line in those games, we were very close.

“After that, we were able to pick up a couple (wins) and I think the belief has only grown from there.”

The Stars, meanwhile, have a 2-4 record and will play their final four games in the span of eight days – and must win at least three of them, and preferably four, to have a chance to sneak into the Finals.

It has been a frustrating run for the green team, whose four losses have come by margins of nine, 15, six and 13 runs.

“It’s a pretty simple equation and I think the competition is so tight as well if you look at the ladder, there’s only a few games in between,” Flintoff said.

“If we can get started that would be great.”

Weber WBBL|10 position

Team	Matches played M	Winning W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/A	Net running speed NRR	Deduction Died.	Total points PTS
1 Sydney Thunder Women THU	7	5	2	0	0	0.291	0	10
2 Melbourne Renegades Women CLEAN	8	5	3	0	0	0.208	0	10
3 Hobart Hurricanes Women HOW	7	4	3	0	0	0.572	0	8
4 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	7	4	3	0	0	0.099	0	8
5 Brisbane Heat Women HEY	7	4	3	0	0	0.084	0	8
6 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	7	3	4	0	0	-0.425	0	6
7 Melbourne Stars Women STA	6	2	4	0	0	0.072	0	4
8 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	7	1	6	0	0	-0.968	0	2

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Winning

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/A: No results

NRR: Net running speed

Ded.: Deduction

PTS: Total points